Erika Zuchold

Erika Zuchold (née Barth; 19 March 1947 – 22 August 2015) was an East German gymnast who competed at the European, World, and Olympic level from the mid-1960s to early 1970s.[1][2]

Erika Zuchold
Zuchold in 1972
Personal information
Country represented	East Germany
Born	19 March 1947 (1947-03-19) Lucka, Germany
Died	22 August 2015 (2015-08-23) (aged 68) Asunción, Paraguay
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Retired	1972
Medal record Olympic Games 1968 Mexico City Vault 1972 Munich Team 1972 Munich Vault 1972 Munich Uneven Bars 1968 Mexico City Team World Championships 1970 Ljubljana Vault 1970 Ljubljana Balance Beam 1966 Dortmund Vault 1970 Ljubljana Team 1970 Ljubljana All-around European Championships 1967 Amsterdam Vault 1969 Landskrona Vault 1969 Landskrona All-Around 1971 Minsk All-Around 1971 Minsk Vault 1971 Minsk Balance Beam 1971 Minsk Floor Exercise

She and Karin Janz were the two most significant (in terms of medals won at major championships) female German gymnasts of the era, leading the East German team to a bronze medal at the 1968 Olympics and a silver medal at the 1972 Olympics.

The highlight of Zuchold's career came at the 1970 World Championships, where she placed second in the individual all-around behind the Soviet Ludmilla Tourischeva and returned to win gold on both vault and balance beam in event finals.[2]

Zuchold is credited as being the first woman to perform a back handspring on balance beam in World or Olympic competition (at the 1966 World Championships), as well as one of the first two women, along with Věra Čáslavská at the 1968 Olympics, to complete a front handspring on balance beam.[3] She also had a transition element named after her on uneven bars.[2]

In her post-gymnastics career, she was a trapeze artist, a curator, an educator, and an abstract painter. In 2005, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[2]

She was married to the cyclist Dieter Zuchold (1937–2014).[2]